Baltimore Life Insurance Company Genealogical Abstracts

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The Baltimore Life Insurance Company was incorporated by the state of Maryland in 1830, and was among the first to actively sell life insurance in the United States, selling their first policy in 1831. Business was generally confined to Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., insuring members of the public in these states, including such notables as Roger Brook Taney and William Henry Harrison. In addition, the company possessed a virtual monopoly on slave life insurance until the end of the 1840's. By the eve of the Civil War, approximately half the policies sold were on slave risks. Baltimore Life made every effort not to differentiate between northern and southern war risks, but the physical and economic devastation of the war placed the company in an extremely precarious position. By the summer of 1867, the Baltimore Life Insurance Company had officially closed their doors. The bulk of this valuable resource book is devoted to genealogical abstracts. The abstracts are listed alphabetically by surname (or given name in slave entries) and list (as available) their month/year and place of birth, place of residence, and occupation. Slaves are indicated along with the name of the person insuring them. A full name index and appendices add to the value of this work.